


This Time it Was Her

by Ry (Reedeemedbywater)



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Bickering, Danger, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 14:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14812934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reedeemedbywater/pseuds/Ry
Summary: A new case just came across an empty desk at the B.A.UIsn't it ironic that the one who would normally read it is the one who it's about?





	This Time it Was Her

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set in the time inbetween when Gideon's left and his replacement hasn't shown up yet. 
> 
> Except I have Emily instead of Elle in this one just because.

Spencer's jaw twitched as he stared at the board in front of him, moving pictures back and forth as if the answer lay only in the arrangement.  
"You alright?" Morgan asked, much too chipper for himself at 7 in the morning.  
"You're here early," Spencer said instead of responding, furrowed brow still focused only on the pictures in front of him.  
"Maybe I'm just out late," Morgan said, sliding a coffee in front of Reid, which he took and finally turned.  
Morgan was still wearing the same clothes he was wearing the day before, a definitive sign he had not gone back to his own room last night.  
Neither had Spencer of course, but that was for, entirely different reasons.  
"People have died," Prentiss said with both an eye roll and a slight smirk, "how can you possibly think about getting lucky right now?"

"Because I'm lucky enough to not be them," he said motioning at the board. Emily frowned and even Spencer raised his eyebrows. Cocky or not, they had yet to know Derek to be insensitive.

"I imagine so given the statistically bleak likelihood of your surviving your own childhood," Hotch said entering the room with a box of evidence and his face pulled into a his patented scowl. "Let the man celebrate being alive, in...whatever way he sees fit," he paused just now looking Morgan up and down.

If he had an opinion on what he saw he kept it to himself, abruptly turning the conversation to briefing.

"Where's J.J?" Spencer asked as it became clear that Hotch was going to run this briefing alone.

Hotch sighed and slid a sealed Manila envelope across the table top, where it stopped just inches from the end at which Reid stood.  
"Okay," Reid said with a subtle lift to his eyebrows and biting back what would have seemed a sarcastic grin. After all this must be a serious case if Hotch didn't even have the time to tell everyone where J.J was.

Spencer was not usually the one who opened envelopes. He picked it up and wondered if he even knew where a letter opener would be. Before he could voice the concern Derek was taking the envelope from his hands, "let me do that," he said, "tearing things really isn't your speciality."

Spencer blinked a bit at this, what an odd insult? Complaint? Weird thing to say? He didn't have long to complicate Morgan's intent, because all of the teams thoughts stood still the moment the folder was opened.  
On the front page of the case file was a headshot of their very own public analysis.

Spencer took the folder back from Morgan, biting his tongue from making the quick remark he wanted to about how at least he knew reading quickly was his speciality. It wasn't worth it. As he scanned the pages he updated the team with what he knew they would most want to know.

"She's alive," he said at almost the same time he read it. "She's alive so far. But, she's been kidnapped," he said, lowering the folder and staring at Hotch with a frown.

"Well we're going after her," Morgan said, jumping to his feet. "Wait," Prentiss said at the same time as Hotch, she pointed to him and nodded as he explained the jurisdiction complications and legal jargon.  
"Were also all emotionally invested," Emily continues when Hotch had finished. "I want to go, but I know I won't be able to do my job at the best of my abilities while emotionally compromised."

"You sound like a robot," Derek said, staring her in the eyes. "I know you're new here so it might be easier for you to rationalize yourself out of helping a coworker, but to us she's family and we're going to help her damn it."

"That's not your call," Hotch said in the overly calm but very firm voice he rarely used to remind the team of their place.

Reid had gone both pale and quiet, trying and failing to silence his mind of everything he knew about what happened to kidnapped women. There were very very slim odds that J.J would make it out of whatever she was going through entirely unharmed.

Those were cut down even more dramatically when a team removed themselves from the search. Hotch was only following his orders, since Lord knows he'd been needing to do that for a while to keep his job at all; but the most helpful thing the team could do right now would be to do what they do best. Even if that meant breaking their own orders. 


End file.
